[Coco] Copyright

[Steve Bjork]

Sorry Luis, but you don't understand copyright law.

Once something is copyrighted, it does not fall out of copyright for a 
long long time.
And Beatles songs can not be used freely.  They are protect under 
copyright law.

As a programmer for almost 40 years, I have written a tons of software 
with most of it having a copyright on it.
I also have to protected my future code by fighting to keep my rights on 
past software safe.  This includes my CoCo software.

To make this point clear,  all CoCo that I worked and was sold for the 
CoCo is still under copyright protection.  Anyone selling or disturbing 
my CoCo software without a license is breaking the law.  Please note ....

*It's always at least a civil matter (a tort). 17 U.S.C. 501(b) details
the mechanisms by which an owner of a copyright may file a civil suit,
and 28 U.S.C. 1338 expressly refers to civil actions arising under the
copyright act.

However, under certain circumstances, it may also be a federal crime. A
copyright infringement is subject to criminal prosecution if infringement
is willful and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial
gain. 17 U.S.C. 506(a). If the offense consists of the reproduction or
distribution, during any 180-day period, of 10 or more copies having a
retail value of more than $2,500, the offense is a felony; otherwise, the
offense is a misdemeanor. 18 U.S.C. 2319.

As a side note, although 18 U.S.C. 2319 purports to prescribe the
penalties for criminal infringement, all crimes covered by Title 18 have
their penalties determined by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, another
part of Title 18.*

Steve Bjork
SRB Software

On 1/13/2011 2:22 PM, Luis Fernández wrote:
> Even the music of the Beatles and is free from copyright
> and can be used freely, and that is not how many years pass
>
> When things coco  release, free?